


sleuthing heroes

by sakon



Category: Ayatsuri Sakon | Puppet Master Sakon
Genre: 50 Sentences, M/M, Pining, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:13:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26462470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakon/pseuds/sakon
Summary: 3. Sakon is quiet and demure, speaking when spoken to, hardly speaking at all, but kind in nature; later, Zenkichi learns his nature doesn't lend itself to being loud, even with Ukon steering the wheels and speaking for him.4. Zenkichi doesn't expect, at first, the slightest change in tone or louder voice to come, but he's sure that nobody expects a boy to have a century-old puppet on their arm wisecracking, and not, y'know, bunraku-ing.5. He, expecting absolutely nothing, did not.Zenkichi reflects on the unlikely protagonist of his story, Tachibana Sakon, and the feelings that come with him.
Relationships: Tachibana Sakon/Fujita Zenkichi
Kudos: 4





	sleuthing heroes

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [you: etched in ink and screentone](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25419919) by [iidesune (batankyu)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/batankyu/pseuds/iidesune). 



> I got inspired by their protagonist lines at the beginning, decided this challenge was a good idea, and ultimately had fun. I'm basing Zenkichi's height on the episode 21 animation because please, the height difference destroys me. **Go check out the inspiration, it's a great fic!**

1\. Out of all the people he expects to be the supposed protagonist, the quiet and subdued Tachibana Sakon isn't one of them — at least not at first.

2\. Heroes are supposed to be boisterous, loud shounen fighters with bounding muscles and bursting brawn; it's what the youth idolize at a young age -- it's what he did, staring at his father, at the photos gracing the walls of their quaint home and the wartime accolades; the boy is none of those things, and even less at first glance.

3\. Sakon is quiet and demure, speaking when spoken to, hardly speaking at all, but kind in nature; later, he learns his character doesn't lend itself to being loud, even with Ukon steering the wheels and speaking for him. 

4\. Zenkichi doesn't expect, at first, the slightest change in tone or louder voice to come, but he's sure that nobody expects a boy to have a century-old puppet on their arm wisecracking, and not, y' know, bunraku-ing.

5\. He, expecting absolutely nothing, did not. 

6\. Out of all the people, he doesn't expect this kind-natured, sweet and shy boy to be an amateur sleuth and able to roll linguistics a new one with his brilliant accusations and his utter skill with words, but Zenkichi gets moved a new one because that's how life works. 

7\. And out of all the people, once more, he doesn't expect him to be his _protagonist_. 

8\. Perhaps Kaoruko, in her girlish fashion and regal — Ukon would kill him if he ever complimented his aunt like that, so vivaciously — is the kind of person to lead a life story; _Tachibana Kaoruko, daughter of a puppeteer, leading section detective, hits another mystery!_

9\. Instead, Sakon is.

10\. Really, it's strange not being the hero; his wild nature practically breeds him for situations, and people never mind throwing him in them because he can quickly get out. 

11\. He's no bull nor bison; Zenkichi is just tall and built a little bigger -- muscular -- than most, and for the most part, it's in the usual way.

12\. Just as the timid boy, Sakon, hardly goes to his shoulder. 

13\. His build is slight, still male, but tiny; his face is almost dollish, however, and he attracts more than the fair share of admirers.

14\. Bishounen _is_ a protagonist trait.

15\. Now Zenkichi knows not to judge the slight frame and unassuming look — not that he ever did particularly — after Sakon flattens a killer with an easy trick: a sleight of hand. 

16\. It's impressive: Sakon's face-to-face with a killer, Ukon blabbering on his hand, and manages to swipe his knife with two fingers.

17\. At the moment, it's fucking terrifying.

18\. Afterward, a mere moment later, Zenkichi starts cackling because he's never been in a situation so strange and fucking weird, and really, some genius kid — he sees Sakon as that at first— pulled a magic trick on a killer heading towards _them;_ reiterating _, Sakon's faced down with a killer and punked him._

19\. He leaves the takedown to Zenkichi, letting the photojournalist snatch the perpetrator's hands and bundle them behind his back, pressing him into the dirt until police arrive. 

20\. As the killer walks by with police officers at his back, Sakon talks to him about his kills — tells him why he did it and asks, shows him how he found out, expresses a deep sadness for them, and tells them where they went wrong.

21\. It's such a protagonist thing.

22\. And so, Zenkichi realizes that the dude is a protagonist and a damn better one than any in any shounen manga or detective literature he's ever read.

23\. Maybe Sakon can't give Arthur Conan Doyle a run for his money, and perhaps he isn't some quick-witted, perfect Sherlock Holmes, but he's some different. 

24\. By different, Zenkichi means exceptional, and by exceptional, he means when Sakon says something incredibly cool, he shuts up and listens, tries not throttling Ukon (it doesn't work), and when Sakon asks, ever so politely and innocuously, "Zenkichi-san, may I ask you a favor please?" he does whatever task that he asks. 

25\. By any task, he finds himself running over grassy marshes, collecting data in decrepit homes, researching killers on a more intimate level until his under eyes look like a club night gone wrong — and Zenkichi is good at it. 

26\. Sakon probably doesn't want him to go the distance and do it that hard; he's a caring guy; Zenkichi, however, does anyway.

27\. It's a thrill to write about cases up close, take photos and write the first-hand accounts of tragedies; after all, that's Zenkichi's job and his passion, and even if it's messy, he enjoys the little stuff like scrolling through books as much as he does the journaling and thrill.

28\. Zenkichi's with his protagonist, and he is a deuteragonist or a sidekick, and it's fantastic.

29\. Zenkichi wants to deck the assholes provoking him and help him as much as he can. 

30\. He also wants to silence his face into a pillow when he feels jealous because jealousy's a bitch.

31\. Feelings are just that: sucky and weird. 

32\. He is usually chill, levelheaded, and not such a dumbass, but the soft caring in the words "Zenkichi-san, are you okay?" can make any mortal man sizzle and die and ascend to the heavens. 

33\. Immerging into a young man took plenty of awkward crushes, the type that made him gaze forlorn into the sky and trip his way into their beds, but not the kind that made him feel like this. 

34\. Comfortable.

35\. Weird.

36\. Sure, Sakon may be a protagonist, and that's what they do, and he just so happens to be his protagonist, but it's not a visual novel or some crappy romance game; Sakon is his protagonist, but he isn't _his_ protagonist.

37\. Linguistics is actually his strong suit.

38\. And he's the quintessential Kansai-ben guy. (Big, loud, and the total antithesis of Sakon, or so it seems. They're actually alike, and it comes as a relief when Sakon loves his photography and getting yakisoba at some dusty bin, just like him.)

39\. Those facts instill wonders on how the hell he can't say his feelings, because it isn't that hard.

40\. Rejection is just a word, and feelings add just barriers for him to push down. 

41\. Except if it were that easy, Zenkichi would be in Sakon's arms, or under one of them cuz' Ukon takes the other, but it's not and he's pining miserably.

42\. As he pines miserably, he realizes that Sakon is that one shy boy in the background of every manga or television show or any form of entertainment, the shy but strong stereotype, the important protagonist, except way more amazing, cuz' he's Sakon and actually real, and then comes the realisation Zenkichi is most definitely the _quintessential dumbass._

43\. And in the time he knows him, (pining meanwhile) he comes to see more of Sakon-and-Ukon, then Sakon without Ukon, then Ukon without Sakon — and the last is strange because he isn't sure how Ukon can move without his puppeteer awake. 

44\. And in the time they're with each other he accompanies him to more places: Takayama, Osaka, and plenty more; Sakon is only cooler and cuter after the years.

45\. With each place, he runs himself tired, going and going, researching and researching until they catch the culprit, and this time is no different. 

46\. Okay, maybe it's different, and maybe it's a little similar; getting in bad situations like being stuck in the mud, however, is not par for the course, so he calls Sakon who _finally_ got a phone. (Of course, it's better than getting ran over again.)

47\. Sakon hurries, arrives with Ukon secured in his box, pushes it against the stump of a tree, secures his hair, and extends his hands down. 

48\. Zenkichi fumbles over his words, the faintest blush to hard to see against his dark skin, and waits for his protagonist to save him.

49\. He smiles, gently and pulls him out of the mud with all his strength.

50\. Zenkichi _almost_ dies as Sakon guides him to sit down in the grass and begins wiping the mud off him, laughing sweetly and amused at his misfortune. 

_51\. It's almost storybook. It's nice like this_.

**Author's Note:**

> i ran out of lines, didn't know how to end it, and said 'ok fuck it zenkichi's stupid'


End file.
